1000 Tiny Birds: 2025 edition

Stewart Lee - Stewart Lee vs. The Man-Wulf

Bristol Beacon, 2025-10-17

More than ever, Lee is playing with the teetering of things not working. Amongst complaints within the first 30 seconds of the lighting setup not working, a inscrutable multi-paragraph heckle from the circle, and half the smoke machines malfunctioning, it’s hard to tell what is intentional and what isn’t. Always fun to be wrong-footed. Man-Wulf is good fun, if not as conclusive as some of Lee’s more recent work, but he’s clearly enjoying being on stage, as with an extended physical/slapstick routine that would have felt beneath him years ago but now just feels like a logical extension. Afterwards, at the merch table, he absolutely lights up when Alasdair asks for recommendations for walking around north Norfolk, which is hilarious to see.